5.  The applicant was born in 1952 and lives in Chişinău. He is a writer and a professor of French.
6.  The applicant's parents, Dumitru Ciubotaru and the late Sofia Caraiman were born in 1927 and 1928 respectively, in Bălţi, province of Bessarabia, Romania. Their Romanian civil status documents did not contain any information concerning their ethnic identity. In their marriage certificate issued by the Soviet authorities in 1949, the entry for ethnicity was left blank. However, the applicant's birth certificate issued by the Soviet authorities in 1952 recorded his parents as ethnic Moldovans. On the applicant's mother's birth certificate issued by the Soviet authorities in 1965 the ethnicity was also left blank. Later, the applicant's parents were recorded as ethnic Moldovans on their Soviet identity cards issued in 1976 and 1979, in accordance with applications completed and signed by them in which Moldovan ethnicity was indicated. On his Soviet identity card the applicant was also indicated as an ethnic Moldovan.
7.  In 2002 the applicant applied to the Moldovan authorities to have his old Soviet identity card replaced by a Moldovan identity card. On the application form he wrote “Romanian” under ethnicity. However, he was told that his application would not be accepted unless Moldovan ethnicity was indicated on it. The applicant complied.
8.  Shortly thereafter the applicant wrote to the local civil registration authority and requested, inter alia, that his ethnicity entry be changed from Moldovan to Romanian. In an answer dated 11 February 2003 the applicant was informed that since his parents were not recorded as ethnic Romanians in their birth and marriage certificates, it was impossible for him to be recorded as an ethnic Romanian.
9.  On an unspecified date the applicant wrote to the central civil registration authority and again requested that his ethnic identity entry be changed from Moldovan to Romanian. In an answer of 2 July 2004 he was informed that Romanian ethnicity had not been indicated in his parents' documents and that, therefore, he could not claim such an ethnic identity. He was advised to search the National Archives for traces of Romanian origin of his grandparents and other ancestors. The applicant wrote numerous complaints to the Prime Minister, the President of the country and other officials, but to no avail.
10.  On 26 July 2004 the applicant initiated proceedings against the State authority responsible for civil registration and identity papers and requested, inter alia, that his ethnicity entry and that of his parents be changed to Romanian in the State Population Registry database and in his identity papers. He argued that he did not consider himself to be an ethnic Moldovan and that it was contrary to his right to freedom of conscience and to his personal dignity to be considered part of an ethnic group which he believed to be an artificial creation of the Stalinist regime.
11.  On 15 November 2004 the Rascani District Court dismissed the applicant's action on the ground that he had failed to prove that his parents were of Romanian ethnic identity as no such identity had been recorded in their identity papers. The applicant appealed and relied, inter alia, on the provisions of the Law on National Minorities (see paragraph 15 below) and on Article 8 of the Convention.
12.  On 15 December 2004 the Chişinău Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant's appeal on the same grounds, stating that the applicant had failed to prove that his parents were ethnic Romanians. The applicant lodged an appeal on points of law with the Supreme Court of Justice.
13.  On 6 April 2005 the Supreme Court of Justice dismissed the applicant's appeal on points of law and pointed out that according to section 68 of the Law on Documents pertaining to Civil Status (see paragraph 16 below) it was impossible to change his parents' ethnic identity to Romanian because in none of their identity papers had Romanian ethnicity been indicated.